From the Events Calendar

Houston's Halloween horror story: Your cheat sheet to the ghoulish season

The Amazing Living Theatre guarantees unusual scares.
Who wouldn't enjoy an evening walk with the undead in Montrose?
Photo by SMercury98 (via Flickr)
Macy Gray headlines Ghoulfest.
Photo by Giuliano Bekor
Because dogs like treats too.
Photo by Jacksonpe (via Flickr)

Editor's note: Listings editor Carolina Astrain will write a regular feature, where she spotlights things pulled from CultureMap's extensive events calendar. First up: A guide to Halloween in Houston.

Last Halloween I flew from Missouri to Houston after developing reactive arthritis (and yes, you can develop arthritis at the age of 21 — all you need is an impressive amount of luck). Horrifying enough for you?

Despite my temporary crippling condition, my Halloween spirit endured. I boarded a Southwest flight dressed as Peter Pan: boy who could fly, but not walk.

So, how lucky are you feeling this Halloween season? Don't do it alone.

Here is CultureMap's curated list of 11 ghoulish parties and events you should make a point of hitting up.

1. Nightmare on the Bayou (all month)
Get wide-eyed chills, hear local ghost stories and be scared while exploring Houston’s oldest graveyard. Terrain is rough, leave your wussy footwear and attitude at home.

Cost: $30-40

2. 13 on the 31st with CultureMap (Oct. 31)
Let’s face it, sometimes it's your civic duty to be an unapologetic snob and ditch the kids stuff. Celsius and CultureMap team up for a sophisticated Halloween featuring themes from Day of the Dead. Promiscuous nurses welcomed, skeletons cherished.

Cost: Whatever you eat and drink. There is no admission charge.

3. Ghoulsfest (Oct. 30)
Obnoxiously adorable hipsters, a skate park and a slate of indie bands including Macy Gray, Girl in A Coma, Bad Brains and Hot Chip DJs? Sounds like my kind of Halloween weekend.

Cost: $45-50

4. Montrose Crawl (Oct. 30)
Put on your best slutty costume (because you know you want to wear one at least once this spooky season) and gallop through Montrose's bar scene. The crawl starts at Brasil and stops at nine different bars (including Anvil, Poison Girl, Etro Lounge) along Westheimer. The crawl runs 4/5 of a mile and a finalist is picked at each stop for a costume contest that ends with a judging at Slick Willie's.

Cost: There is no cover charge.

5. Orange Show Pumpkin Carving (Saturday)
A BYOP (Bring your own pumpkin) workshop. Rub shoulders with other crafty residents of Houston and carve out the beginnings of a great Halloween season.

Cost: Free

6. Zombie Walk Houston (Saturday)
Get your “Thriller” on and join other Houstonians in a cavalcade of corpses through Montrose, with an after party at Lucky’s Pub. It's exactly what it sounds like. You dress up like a zombie and walk — with proceeds going to charity.

Cost: $10

7. Amazing Living Theatre (Friday and Saturday night)
In the mood for a little danger? This show takes a look at illegal freak shows and reveals secrets of the now forbidden craft in the back alleys and crumbling theatrical venues of a faux post-apocalyptic Houston of 2020.

Cost: $10

8. Howl-O-Ween Pet Costume Contest (Saturday)
Love your pooches too much to leave them at home? No fear! Slip Rufus into his best costume and enter him into this pet costume contest at Memorial City Mall, with a $500 grand prize.

Keep the kids entertained with face painting, Boo bags and pumpkin decorating.

Cost: Free

9. Dracula on the Green (Oct. 31)
Feel the chills on Halloween night by watching this 1930s horror classic movie, staring Bela Lugosi at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Dracula came out in 1931.

Costumes and candy are encouraged — Transylvanian accents too.

Cost: Free

10. Haunted Hotel in Galveston (all month)
Wanna skip town? Check into Hotel Galvez and for a ghost tour that includes brunch, a three-course dinner and spa treatment. Who says Halloween can’t be glamorous? Shouldn't ever scare come with a soothing spa?

Cost: $179-189

11. ScreamWorld (all month) In a world full of haunted houses, ScreamWorld puts the scary back into the tradition. This is much more Saw IV than Disney's Haunted Mansion.

Cost: $25

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”